The Christian Association of Nigeria said Saturday that the number of students and teachers abducted from St. Mary’s School in Niger State in the second mass kidnapping in a week finally stands at 315, following a verification exercise conducted Friday morning.

Specifically, the new total of those abducted “after the completion of the verification exercise” stands at 303 students and 12 teachers, up from the earlier estimate of 227.

The abduction occurred on Friday at St. Mary’s School, in Niger state, in the central part of the country, when gunmen stormed the premises and massively evacuated students and staff, according to local authorities and union representatives.

The incident comes days after another attack on a school, this time at a secondary institution in Kebbi state, in northwestern Nigeria, where gunmen abducted 25 female students on Monday. The two kidnappings have raised deep concern over the escalating violence against schools and the re-emergence of organised armed groups targeting educational structures in various parts of the country.